Easter The Story

The Story of Easter

Easter is a time of springtime festivals. In Christian countries Easter is celebrated as the religious holiday commemorating the rising of Christ, the son of God. But the celebrations of Easter have many customs and legends that are pagan in origin and have nothing to do with Christianity have nothing to do with Christianity  

The Christian celebration of Easter embodies a number of  traditions with emphasis on the relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name used by Europeans for Easter. Passover is an important feast in the Jewish calendar which is celebrated for 8 days and commemorates the flight and freedom of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets. Easter is observed by the churches of the West on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or following the spring equinox (March 2I). So Easter became a "movable" feast which can occur as early as March 22 or as late as April 25

Easter is at the end of the Lenten season, which covers a forty-six-day period that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter. The Lenten season itself comprises forty days, as the six Sundays in Lent are not actually a part of Lent. Sundays are considered a commemoration of Easter Sunday and have always been excluded from the Lenten fast. The Lenten season is a period of penitence in preparation for the highest festival of the church year, Easter.

Holy Week, the last week of Lent, begins its with the observance of Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday takes its name from Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem where the crowds laid palms at his feet. Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, which was held the evening before the Crucifixion. Friday in Holy Week is the anniversary of the Crufixion, the day that Christ was crucified and died on the cross

Holy week and the Lenten season end with Easter Sunday, the day of resurrection of Jesus Christ

Scholars, believe the name Easter is thought to come from the Scandinavian "Ostra" and the Teutonic "Ostern" or "Eastre," both Goddesses of mythology signifying spring and fertility whose festival was celebrated on the day of the spring equinox.

Traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.

Here are some other prominent Easter symbols ... Click to learn more:

• The Easter Lilly symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus because the shell represents the tomb of Jesus and the flower that blooms represents life after death.

• The first chocolate easter eggs recipes were made in Europe in the nineteenth century.
• Vegreville, Canada is the home of the largest Easter egg in the world. The Easter egg or Ukrainian 'Pysanka,' was made in 1975 to commemorate early Ukrainian settlements in an area east of Edmonton. It weighed 5,000 pounds, and was 25.7 feet long.
• Pysanka is a specific term used for the practice of Easter egg painting.
• Most children (74%) eat the ears of their chocolate bunny first. 13% eat the feet first, and 10% eat the tails first.
• In 1878 U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife Lucy officially opened the White House grounds to the children of the area for egg rolling on Easter Monday. The event has been held on the South Lawn ever since, except during World War I and World War II.
• The initial baskets of Easter were given the appearance of bird's nests.

Eggs, and bunnies, and jelly beans, oh my! Our selection of Easter crafts, recipes, and activities will have your whole family excited for Easter.

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